Originally Posted by steaxauce Thanks. Is there any point to having two drivers that are exactly the same instead of one bigger one? That was my question.
Those "bottom" two could be similar drivers, crossed over at different frequencies.
The drivers internal mechanics could be different, using a common enclosure... can't tell from these pics.
Originally Posted by milkpowder But then, wouldn't that mean that this is a triple-crossover 'phone, which it's not? (or maybe it is...)
There a difference between Westone's triple 3-way iem and and UE and Shures' triple driver iem. Westone has a 3-way iem in which one driver does highs, another mids, and another lows. The other triple driver iems has one for the highs and the other two for the lows. The two lows each handle a different frequency range but it's still lows so it's a 2-way not a 3-way iem.
I believe the ue10 actually has 3 seperate enclosures for their drivers and these new universal ones are using a newer single enclosure dual-bass driver.
Originally Posted by iamdone There a difference between Westone's triple 3-way iem and and UE and Shures' triple driver iem. Westone has a 3-way iem in which one driver does highs, another mids, and another lows. The other triple driver iems has one for the highs and the other two for the lows. The two lows each handle a different frequency range but it's still lows so it's a 2-way not a 3-way iem.
I believe the ue10 actually has 3 seperate enclosures for their drivers and these new universal ones are using a newer single enclosure dual-bass driver.
Yes, but you need 2 crossover frequencies, which makes them 3-way. It doesn't matter where the crossover frequencies lie, it's still 3-way. The ES3 may well have one "tweeter" and two "woofers" but configured one of the woofers to deliver the midrange. It doesn't matter how many transducers they use. What matters is how many crossover frequencies there are.
If the UE and Shure's triple universals only have 1 crossover frequency, then they're two way. If 2, then 3-way. I suspect that both triple universals are two way and hence the two woofers actually do double the work.
That makes more sense. If that's the case, I'd say it's almost a marketing gimmick. Although I like ue10 better than the 2 driver sensa because clearer highs, the sensas had better bass with just the one driver.
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Originally Posted by milkpowder Yes, but you need 2 crossover frequencies, which makes them 3-way. It doesn't matter where the crossover frequencies lie, it's still 3-way. The ES3 may well have one "tweeter" and two "woofers" but configured one of the woofers to deliver the midrange. It doesn't matter how many transducers they use. What matters is how many crossover frequencies there are.
If the UE and Shure's triple universals only have 1 crossover frequency, then they're two way. If 2, then 3-way. I suspect that both triple universals are two way and hence the two woofers actually do double the work.
Originally Posted by iamdone That makes more sense. If that's the case, I'd say it's almost a marketing gimmick. Although I like ue10 better than the 2 driver sensa because clearer highs, the sensas had better bass with just the one driver.
I think there's a lot more to just how many crossovers there are, eg single bored vs dual bored, transducer placement, crossover electronics design, internal circuit design, sonic and mechanical characteristics of transducers used, length and shape of sound tube(s), physical characteristics of the material used to encase the electronics and transducers, crossover frequencies, placement of IEM into the ear, etc...
I'm glad that some of the questions have been answered already.
E500 is a two-way design, high and low. The low goes to two speakers per side.
My main purpose for going with a dual woofer versus a single was sound quality and size. By using two small individually ported transducers stacked together we could get the mid and low frequency response we wanted in a smaller package. The single woofer that gave a similar sound was about 50% larger. Considering we work in such small places (ears) we chose the triple design to allow E500 to be as small as possible while still offering the response that we wanted. You can call it a marketing gimmick - I consider size and sound quality to be equal parts engineering and marketing.
Originally Posted by Sugarfried I'm glad that some of the questions have been answered already.
E500 is a two-way design, high and low. The low goes to two speakers per side.
My main purpose for going with a dual woofer versus a single was sound quality and size. By using two small individually ported transducers stacked together we could get the mid and low frequency response we wanted in a smaller package. The single woofer that gave a similar sound was about 50% larger. Considering we work in such small places (ears) we chose the triple design to allow E500 to be as small as possible while still offering the response that we wanted. You can call it a marketing gimmick - I consider size and sound quality to be equal parts engineering and marketing.
Cool. Thanks for making such an amazing product! I was just wondering whether you believe in burn-in?
I swear my E500 has improved! Also, what tips were used to tune the sound? Did you ever use Comply Tips? I've also noticed that insertion depth played a massive part in the actual sound. Was that also part of the design?
Oh one more thing, why do the two woofers share the same "hole"?
The two woofers don't share the same hole, there is a port on each driver on opposite sides. It's probably not clear in the pictures.
I had all of our beta testers use a variety of sleeves, but most people here prefer foam to cleaf flex, soft flex or triple flange.
Burn-in is a thing of mystery to me. Our graphs show that over time the response curve doesn't change, but the graphs don't show things like transients and tonality so it's tough to say. I can't tell someone that something they hear isn't there, so I just go with it. For me personally I have never observed burn-in with balanced armature drivers but I have with dynamic drivers.
I have used Comply tips and I can see why they might be a good option for some people. For me they go a little too far in, or the tradeoff is that the earphone isn't as low profile in my ear. With E500's slightly longer nozzle it's easier to get a good fit vs. E5 with any sleeve - our goal was to make it as universally comfortable as possible.
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Originally Posted by milkpowder Cool. Thanks for making such an amazing product!
You are most welcome, I'm so glad to hear that you like it!
Sorry for the off-topic question, but since Sugarfried is probably monitoring this thread...
Are any of these drivers rated for playing a certain maximum number of hours? Or can I enjoy my E500s all day/all night and not have to worry about any of the drivers dying on me?
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